HOUSTON – You may remember a mass Justice Department bust in which 23 people were arrested on fraud charges, including defrauding hundreds of people in a romance scam.

Well, a Houston doctor was one of the people charged and the only one acquitted.

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Before Dr. Segun Adeoye was acquitted by a jury in March 2024. He was held for 30 months in prison, considered a flight risk. He therefore did not obtain bail.

“It looks like a horror movie,” Adeoye says, but this monster is scarier than any movie.

Dr. Segun Adeoye of Houston went to help at a hospital in Kermit, Texas, in 2021 during a surge in COVID cases. His first day there, he was arrested in the emergency room by federal agents, charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

“Something I don’t want my enemy to go through. I’ve lived an almost perfect life and it was beyond shocking. I asked the FBI agent, ‘are you sure you have the right name ?’ He said, “Yes, it’s you.” I lost my father while I was in prison. I didn’t have time to cry or attend his funeral. that the son he had raised well was locked up in prison,” Adeoye said.

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It turns out that Adeoye, originally from Nigeria, had a childhood friend who was one of 23 people charged in this massive Justice Department case. So he thinks the authorities thought he was guilty by association.

Hundreds of Americans were scammed out of $17 million in romance scams and other frauds, and everyone charged was convicted except Adeoye, who been acquitted.

“It was hard, very hard. When I was in prison, I had my Christmas meal in a cell flooded with excrement. Now that I’m out, some friends no longer take care of me, because there are another cloud of doubt. My goodness, that’s an experience you don’t want your enemy to go through. A comforting factor, I knew the outcome, I knew I was going to be found not guilty. broken,” Adeoye said.

“After he gets out, he’s a different man. No big hospital will touch him. He has to find a job in independent emergency rooms. He had two houses. They all disappeared while he was there,” says the Adeoye’s lawyer, Femi Ogunjumelo. with the Mayday law firm.

“I had no doubt about my acquittal. My concern was how do I get my name back?” asks Adeoye.

“Having his name, his livelihood, his career stolen by the Department of Justice, the FBI, under the pretext that he committed a crime he knew nothing about. Now, what will the government do to make him right? well “name they stole from him?” asks community activist Quanell

“We are suing the U.S. government. I don’t know if a certain dollar amount can fully compensate for what he’s been through, what he’s suffering. It’s all about responsibility and s “make sure this never happens to anyone again.” “, Ogunjumelo said.

“Your life has been given back to you, but it’s not. It will take years to rebuild it,” says Adeoye, who is seeking nearly $400 million.

We have reached out to the Department of Justice for comment regarding the lawsuit and are awaiting a response.